Not all about the bier: You might just learn something at Munich’s annual Oktoberfest

By Kristen Amiet| 2 years ago

Images: Getty Images

On 12 October, 1810, Munich's Crown Prince Ludwig was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghause, with celebrations continuing into the days following the royal wedding.

Members of the Bavarian public were invited to join the festivities on the fields in front of the city gates, which were renamed Theresienwiese ("Theresa's Fields", or "Wiesen" for short) in honour of the new crown princess. The festival's end was marked with a horse race of royal proportions, with the whole thing such a success the Bavarians begged Ludwig to let them do it all again the next year.

Our festival guide, George, tells us Ludwig (who would later become King Ludwig I) was particularly terrible at monogamy, but conceded that the event should take place again on the anniversary of his marriage to long-suffering Therese.

The general assumption is that the Oktoberfest is an excuse for Bavarian natives and Australian expats to consume close to their body weight in bier for 16 days out of the year, but it's this historical significance – which is still very much celebrated today – that makes the annual festival one of the richest and most concentrated cultural experiences you'll have in Munich.

Every year, upwards of six million people will make the pilgrimage to the German city to take part in the festivities from the middle of September (which is counterintuitive, but in place to avoid a snow later in October), and you could be forgiven for thinking they've all arrived at the Wiesen on the same day. The grounds are huge, the crowd is bigger, and the atmosphere is electric.

Somewhat surprisingly, tourists only make up a very small portion of the crowd at any given time; around 15 percent. The rest are overwhelmingly Bavarian and only attend the festival, Georg jokes, "to remember why they hate it". I can't speak for the many thousands of revellers whom I joined on the opening weekend of this year's festival, but they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves…

The Oktoberfest is first and foremost a family affair, with groups made up of everyone from tiny toddlers to bona fide festival veterans taking part in the day-to-day proceedings, which explains its largely respectful and violence-free atmosphere.

Almost all who attend – tourists included – are decked-out in Bavarian attire (dirndls for women, lederhosen for men, or an outfit that meets somewhere in the middle), with traditional dress of the Bavarian nation's various regions on full display during a parade through the Wiesen on the first Sunday of the festival.

While that's one of the more overt displays of the festival's many rich traditions, it's easy to overlook some of the smaller but equally compelling attractions, wedged between the bright lights and loud rides that populate the fields today: the Hexen Schaukel, a rotating cabin that uses simple illusion to convince riders they're being flipped upside-down without much real movement at all, has taken up space at the festival for 121 years and still works like the day it was made. It's a tiny but elaborately decorated structure, and well worth your time if you want to experience a piece of Oktoberfest history for yourself.

But all of this is not to say the iconic bier halls aren't an important part of the festival's ever-evolving traditions.

There are six main Munich breweries permitted to take up space at the annual event, and each of the 13 "big tents" draw their own distinct crowd and atmosphere: "Hacker-Festzelt is popular with young Münchners, Weinzelt specialises in wine and a great late-night party, and Ochsenbraterei is famous for its signature spit-roasted whole ox," Munich-born former General Manager of Australia's Urban Purveyor Group, Josef Neumeier, tells me.

Much of my time was spent in the Lowenbrau and Ochsenbraterei tents, which are considered "small" by those in the know; they accommodate between 8000 and 9000 bier-swilling revellers at any given time, and the staff work like a well-oiled machine. In fact, it's faster to get a bier in any of the festival's bier halls or gardens than in a 100-pax bar in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

If it sounds familiar, it's because Lowenbrau shared its name with Sydney's legendary Lowenbrau Keller, which is now known as Munich Brauhaus. While the Sydney establishment can't compete with its namesake's halls in terms of size, the range of biers and German cuisine is some of the best you'll find outside of Oktoberfest. (I should know, I tried them all.)

You can expect steins (heavy, glass-handled bier mugs designed to hold 1L of bier – and no less) full to the brim with Lowenbrau or Spatenbrau's signature brews, depending on where you're stationed, and are in for a treat when it comes to the vast array of German cuisine on offer.

For a traditional apple strudel positively swimming in custard, you can't go past the Kafel tent's outdoor café, and might like to cap off the night at one of the festival's many schnapps stalls. It's a tradition, after all.

If you aren't among those making their way to Munich for this year's festival, Sydney's Bavarian Bier Café and the Munich Brauhaus in Sydney and Melbourne will be celebrating Oktoberfest the Australian way, with events at all three venues already underway.Visit the website for the full schedule and to book.